Structure
Verb + わけにはいかない
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About わけにはいかない
わけにはいかない is a statement that combines わけ 'to be so', 'reason', or 'cause', with the case marking particle に, the adverbial particle は, and the 'cannot go' meaning of 行かない. It can be translated as 'cannot afford to (A)', or 'impossible to (A)'. However, the literal meaning is much closer to 'it cannot be so that (A)'.
This structure will be used directly after the non-past form of verbs, in order to highlight them as being either highly undesirable, or highly unattainable.
Although わけにはいかない primarily highlights things that are undesirable, it may also highlight something that is desirable, but impossible for some reason. This will depend largely on the speaker's tone of voice, and context of the conversation.
In these types of sentences, the expression is quite similar to the 'I guess it's just not meant to be so' nuance that can be conveyed in English, highlighting regret.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Examples
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僕はその問題を黙って見過ごす訳には行かない。
I cannot afford to silently overlook that problem.
まだやるべきことがあるから、死ぬ訳には行かないんだ!
I can't afford to die, because there are still some things I have to do!
大統領に頼まれたので断る訳には行かない。
Since I was asked by the president I can't afford to say no.
それは捨てる訳には行きません。大切な人からもらったんです。
I can't afford to throw it away. I got it from my special someone.
まだ許す訳には行きません。ちゃんと反省してないでしょ。
I can't afford to forgive you yet. You haven't taken the time to properly reflect on what you have done.
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Online
The various uses of わけ
Tae Kim
Further breakdown and exercises
MLC Japanese
The difference between 「いけない」 and 「いかない」
Japanese StackExchange
Very thorough breakdown in Japanese
nihongo day by day
接続・意味・使い方・例文
にほんごの里
Offline
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 286
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 93
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